Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie took home nine awards at Euromoney's Women in Business Law Americas 2021 virtual event, including Best Mentoring Program by an International Firm. The Firm received the award for its Leaders Investing for Tomorrow (LIFT) program - a major global sponsorship initiative to support junior women partners in progressing to senior leadership roles.
In addition, the Lima office (Estudio Echecopar) was recognized with three awards: Best Firm of the Year in Peru, Best Diversity Initiative and Best Pro Bono – Latin American Firm, due to its outstanding achievements in supporting the development of women in the legal profession and providing innovative work/life programs to enable women to pursue legal careers.
On top of these accolades, four Baker McKenzie lawyers were also recognized as leading practitioners in their fields. They were awarded for their professional accomplishments, success in their professional field, decision-making roles, advocacy, and for being examples of professional creativity.
- Corporate Latin American Lawyer of the Year and Life Science Lawyer of the Year– Vanina Caniza, partner in Baker McKenzie's Buenos Aires office in Argentina and the global chair of the Healthcare & Life Sciences industry group.
- Litigation Latin American Lawyer of the Year – Claudia Benavides, partner at the Bogota office in Colombia and global chair of the Firm's Dispute Resolution practice group. Claudia is also a member of the Baker McKenzie's Global Inclusion & Diversity Committee.
- Aviation Lawyer of the Year – Jennifer Trock, partner at the Washington office in the US and chair of Baker McKenzie's Global Aviation Group and North America International Commercial practice group.
- Technology Lawyer of the Year – Marcela Robledo, partner at the San Francisco office in the US and a member of the American and California Bar Associations, as well as the International Trademark Association and the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Speaking after the ceremony, Baker McKenzie's Global Chair of Global Diversity & Inclusion, Constanze Ulmer-Eilfort, said, "We are thrilled to receive this recognition. As a Firm, we continue to advance our commitment to championing women; and these awards are a testament to our efforts in supporting our female talent's progression to key leadership roles. I want to particularly congratulate the winners and shortlisted nominees. We will continue to develop key initiatives such as our recently awarded mentoring program LIFT, and I am looking forward to seeing many more talented women in leadership roles in the future."
Baker McKenzie's Leaders Investing for Tomorrow is a 12-month program that provides women partners with experience to enhance their leadership impact and continue to advance their career trajectory. Supported by equity partner sponsors who have a demonstrated ability to advocate for women program participants, LIFT establishes sponsee-sponsor trust relationships. Over 100 women partners and over 100 senior sponsors from our offices around the world have participated in LIFT since the program launched in 2017.